socalfunplaces Chapter 48 "The Fragrance of Rice"
Chapter 48 "The Fragrance of Rice"
Lu Ran's appearance caused the live stream to become much more popular.
It wasn't because of Lu Ran's arrival, but because of Lu Ran's coming in.
"Holy crap, who is this kid? Why did he just walk in while we were doing an interview?"
"Are all the staff at Xingyao this casual? Can these little bastards just interrupt my Siqi's live stream like that?"
"While I admit this young man is somewhat handsome, who is he?"
Lin Yue, who was conducting the interview, was also taken aback when the strange man suddenly walked in.
Before this, she had indeed never met Lu Ran and did not know what Lu Ran looked like.
But as a professional host, Lin Yue still politely asked Liu Siqi, "Siqi, this teacher who came in, why don't you introduce her to us?"
Upon seeing that the person who arrived was Lu Ran, Liu Siqi was suddenly excited.
Just when I was worrying, the person in charge arrived.
"This is Lu Ran," Liu Siqi said, pointing to Lu Ran with her palm, "the producer who wrote the lyrics, composed the music, arranged the music for these two songs."
"Holy crap! The main character is here!"
"He's alright looking, but he seems a bit slacker."
"Did he really write that? I don't believe it."
"Brother Lu! I'm a huge fan of your song 'The Return of the God of War'! I never knew you could write songs!"
Zhou Tao, clearly not wanting to miss this opportunity, immediately followed up through the screen: "Hello, Mr. Lu Ran, I'm Zhou Tao, a reporter from *Entertainment Frontline*. Since you're here, I'd like to speak on behalf of the majority of netizens and ask you a question directly: How do you view the online doubts about the authenticity of your creative abilities? Are you willing to accept some more direct tests to prove yourself?"
Zhou Tao's questions were very direct, even somewhat unforgiving.
Even Liu Siqi, who was standing to the side, looked at Lu Ran with some concern.
Although she had discussed this with Lu Ran yesterday, the interview with Zhou Tao was not part of the plan.
Liu Siqi was worried that Zhou Tao would deliberately make things difficult for her later.
But seeing Lu Ran's nonchalant expression, Liu Siqi felt inexplicably at ease.
"Actually..." Lu Ran sighed at the camera, "Sigh, I just want to quietly slack off, why is it so difficult?"
As soon as Lu Ran opened his mouth, he made the viewers in the live broadcast room laugh.
"Just as I've always thought, those with connections are all slackers."
"Does Xingyao also have employees who are so keen on slacking off?"
Seeing the audience's positive reaction, Lu Ran cleared his throat: "However, since everyone is so curious, and Reporter Zhou wants me to prove myself through a more direct test, I wonder what kind of test you're referring to?"
Although Zhou Tao asked some sharp questions, he wasn't someone who wanted to deliberately cause trouble for Lu Ran; he just couldn't stand the various chaotic phenomena in the entertainment industry.
When Lu Ran asked him how he would test him, Zhou Tao also fell into deep thought.
If it's too easy, it'll be hard to shake off the suspicion that Lu Ran had someone else write it for him. But if it's too difficult, it'll seem like he's deliberately making things difficult for Lu Ran.
"Or, the audience can vote on a theme, and you can create a short piece on the spot. It doesn't need to be long, just a short one, but you can't have anyone else help you."
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Tao gave a reasonably reasonable suggestion.
A snippet? Lu Ran smiled.
How can a single clip prove Lao Tzu's innocence?
If you're going to write, write a whole poem!
Now that Lu Ran possesses master-level abilities in composing, arranging, writing lyrics, and singing, why would he be afraid of this small test from the other party?
Lu Ran sat up straighter, a serious look in his eyes: "Since it's a test, it has to prove its value. Here's what we'll do: the audience will vote for a theme, and I'll have ten minutes to compose the complete lyrics and music for a song, which I'll then sing while playing the guitar."
Lu Ran's words were spoken casually, yet they stunned everyone both inside and outside the live stream.
Even the host, Lin Yue, was stunned and speechless: "Write a complete song on the spot?"
Zhou Tao was clearly surprised that Lu Ran would dare to accept the offer. While he was skeptical, he couldn't help but admire Lu Ran's courage.
"If Mr. Lu Ran has this confidence, then of course it's the best way to prove it! We can collect a theme on the spot, and you can improvise a piece for the audience in the live broadcast room and professional music critics to witness."
"At that time, even if you only create the chorus, as long as your level is not as good as 'The World' and 'By the Lake Baikal,' then you will be considered to have real talent."
Lu Ran grinned: "No problem. We'll vote directly in the live stream; it'll be in three minutes. Siqi, can I borrow your guitar?"
Liu Siqi had recovered from her surprise and nodded with a smile: "Of course."
The live stream chat exploded with excitement!
The voting channel opened quickly, with options including several common creative themes: love, separation, dreams, seasons, hometown...
As the three-minute countdown began, the votes started rolling wildly.
Ultimately, "Seasons" came in first place, followed by "Dreams" and "Hometown".
These are all relatively popular themes, and recently, songs by Xu Manlin, Weng Qingya, and Liu Siqi have all basically conformed to these main themes.
"The seasons..." Lu Ran wasn't surprised by the result. He picked up his guitar and then asked, "Do we need to specify the exact seasons?"
The live chat was flooded with comments like "Summer!", "Summer, it has to be summer!", and "A summer showdown!"
"Okay, let's go with summer then. But don't forget the others either. I'll use 'summer,' 'dreams,' and 'hometown' as the themes for my creations." Lu Ran wiggled his fingers, closed his eyes, and seemed to be thinking.
"Holy crap, Lu Ran actually increased the difficulty on his own initiative. Does he not know the meaning of death?"
"That's because he's confident. I think this Lu Ran might actually be a remarkable producer."
As the number of viewers in the live stream continues to increase, it has now surpassed three million.
Liu Siqi, who was standing to the side, was also worried for Lu Ran.
Less than a minute later, Lu Ran opened his eyes; he already knew what song to sing.
A few seconds later, Lu Ran gently placed his hand on the guitar strings and plucked the first note.
A simple, upbeat guitar intro with a rustic charm flowed out, instantly captivating everyone's ears.
Immediately afterwards, Lu Ran began to sing a cappella. His voice carried a unique warmth that struck the depths of the soul.
The lyrics are simple yet deeply moving. The melody is catchy, like the breeze blowing through rice paddies on a summer evening.
If you have too many complaints about this world
Do n’t dare to go forward if you fall
Why do people have to be so fragile and depraved?
Please turn on the TV and take a look.
So many people are bravely striving to keep going for their lives.
Shouldn't we be content?
Cherish everything, even if you don't own it.
...